Isaiah 63-64 and Mark 13
Isaiah 63:7 - 64:12 (NRSV)
7 I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
because of all that the Lord has done for us,
and the great favour to the house of Israel
that he has shown them according to his mercy,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
8 For he said, ‘Surely they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely’;
and he became their saviour
9 in all their distress.
It was no messenger* or angel
but his presence that saved them;*
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
because of all that the Lord has done for us,
and the great favour to the house of Israel
that he has shown them according to his mercy,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
8 For he said, ‘Surely they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely’;
and he became their saviour
9 in all their distress.
It was no messenger* or angel
but his presence that saved them;*
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
10 But they rebelled
and grieved his holy spirit;
therefore he became their enemy;
he himself fought against them.
11 Then they* remembered the days of old,
of Moses his servant.*
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea
with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is the one who put within them
his holy spirit,
12 who caused his glorious arm
to march at the right hand of Moses,
who divided the waters before them
to make for himself an everlasting name,
13 who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
they did not stumble.
14 Like cattle that go down into the valley,
the spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
Thus you led your people,
to make for yourself a glorious name.
15 Look down from heaven and see,
from your holy and glorious habitation.
Where are your zeal and your might?
The yearning of your heart and your compassion?
They are withheld from me.
16 For you are our father,
though Abraham does not know us
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O Lord, are our father;
our Redeemer from of old is your name.
17 Why, O Lord, do you make us stray from your ways
and harden our heart, so that we do not fear you?
Turn back for the sake of your servants,
for the sake of the tribes that are your heritage.
18 Your holy people took possession for a little while;
but now our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
19 We have long been like those whom you do not rule,
like those not called by your name.
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence—
2 *as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3 When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him.
5 You meet those who gladly do right,
those who remember you in your ways.
But you were angry, and we sinned;
because you hid yourself we transgressed.*
6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is no one who calls on your name,
or attempts to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have delivered* us into the hand of our iniquity.
8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,
and do not remember iniquity for ever.
Now consider, we are all your people.
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful house,
where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned by fire,
and all our pleasant places have become ruins.
12 After all this, will you restrain yourself, O Lord?
Will you keep silent, and punish us so severely?
so that the mountains would quake at your presence—
2 *as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3 When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him.
5 You meet those who gladly do right,
those who remember you in your ways.
But you were angry, and we sinned;
because you hid yourself we transgressed.*
6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is no one who calls on your name,
or attempts to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have delivered* us into the hand of our iniquity.
8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,
and do not remember iniquity for ever.
Now consider, we are all your people.
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful house,
where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned by fire,
and all our pleasant places have become ruins.
12 After all this, will you restrain yourself, O Lord?
Will you keep silent, and punish us so severely?
In the years 597 and 587 BCE, according to tradition, Jerusalem and Judah fell to the Babylonians, Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed, and the rulers and upper class of Judah were carried off into exile in Babylon. Without the Temple worship, Judaism changed greatly during the exile as there was tremendous struggle to deal with what was perceived as the absence of God and God’s abandonment and punishment of his people. But the people of Israel actually prospered in Babylon, and when Babylon fell to the Persians and the Jews were given permission to return home to Jerusalem in 538, many were settled prosperously in Babylon and declined to return to a ravished land that lay in ruins.
Much literature originated during the exile, including not only the exotic prophecies of Ezekiel but many psalms (see Psalm 137), canonization of the Torah, apocalyptic material including possibly parts of the Book of Daniel, and other works including parts of Isaiah.
Isaiah 63:7 - 64:12 is a lament, a psalm that, even though it’s part of what is commonly called the post-exilic “Third Isaiah,” some scholars think was written during the exile. Regardless of dating, it bewails the discouraging nigh unto hopeless devastation that has befallen Jerusalem, and cries out for God to return to his people and save.
The blue font above is taken out of context to be our First Reading for this coming Sunday, November 27, 2011, which is the First Sunday of Advent. The lectionary uses the Isaiah segment to complement the gospel reading from Mark, which scholars commonly call the “little apocalypse,” Jesus prophesying the Eschaton, the end of time with the destruction of everything and the coming of the Son of Man. It is not clear to all scholars whether, in this section, Jesus is speaking of himself personally or of the Son of Man who is the cosmic figure associated with Daniel chapter 7. Either way, it seems threatening, ominous, portentous. And whatever, a serious reader should read the entirety of Mark chapter 13 and not just verses 24-37 that the lectionary framers designated for the Sunday reading. Lifting unnecessarily out of context seems not far from proof-texting, which we profess not to countenance. Read the whole thing, both Mark 13 and the psalm of lament at Isaiah 63-64: the Word of the Lord is not a burden, but a joy.
TW+ the Crotchety